


"Not a Fire Dragon"

by Mr_Noodles



Category: Legend of Spyro, Spyro
Genre: Dragons
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-16
Updated: 2020-08-17
Packaged: 2021-03-05 23:54:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 7
Words: 9,521
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25943923
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mr_Noodles/pseuds/Mr_Noodles
Summary: STILL WIP!! My own speculation about Malefor's history. Unfortunately, as he was born before TLOS takes place, I've had to take a lot of artistic liberties. Don't make this your new cannon ;)
Kudos: 4





	1. Chapter 1

**PART 1 CHAPTER 1**

“The egg! The egg!”

Tempastor’s scales stood on end. Their wife was screaming; her tone indistinguishable. They whipped around. The mines would have to wait.

They had only just left their little cavern. Walked not far away toward that cursed digging hole. 

_ Tchhh, tchhh. Not to worry about that. Now is the time to focus on Terynth. _

With a puff of dust, and half a dozen coughs, they leapt to Terynth’s side. Her gray face was indistinguishable in the low light. Her sides were heaving. Between pants, she repeated:

“The egg… egg…”

Tempastor looked to her side, at the freshly laid orb. It was sticky. In fact, it seemed like the entire area was covered in fluid from the birth. Tempastor gently reached a paw out to touch it. Terynth snarled briefly, but caught herself. Her spouse would never do anything to hurt their child. But the blue-gray wind dragon seemed confused. She was still aching from the struggle she just had; the pain was too much to speak clearly.

“No… it’s…”

Tempastor moved aside to let the outside light reflect off of the warm shell. They looked up. The two dragons spoke at the same time:

“Extinguished.”

The morning light was untinted. It was unmistakable. The egg was discolored; purple. Whoever was inside would never be able to access an element. The color didn’t align with any known dragon breath.

Tempastor sat down next to Terynth. She bristled at first, but relaxed. Her sides were atypically warm, and pulsed with blood and heaving breaths. She curled around the egg. Tempastor could feel her body continue to loosen. They stroked Terynth’s back with a paw to coax her to sleep.

With a gentle whisper, they encouraged the bedraggled wind dragon.

“You did so good today. You’re the strongest dragon I know.”

Now was not the time to talk about the future of their child. Terynth needed to recover, and rightfully so. Even laying one egg took a great amount of effort in this environment.  The two wind dragons may have been miners, but that didn’t mean they had much access to the life-bringing power of spirit gems.

Which was probably why their poor child was born element-less.

Tempastor jerked as they had the urge to cough again. The mines would have to wait today.


	2. PART 1 CHAPTER 2

**PART 1 CHAPTER 2**

He twined between his parent’s moving legs. The sky was gray, as it often was at this time of year, but Malefor didn’t mind. 

“Careful,” Terynth laughed as he nearly collided with Tempastor’s front leg, “At this rate, you’ll be squashed before we ever reach the mine!”

The purple dragon skittered to Terynth and nipped her wingtip, “But the mines! I’m so excited to see them!”

Tempastor snorted, “You said that yesterday.”

They reached their neck over to the little dragon and lifted him away from his mother and onto their back.

“But there’s so much stuff there! I see something new every day,” Malefor pouted. 

Tempastor rolled their eyes and received gentle gnawing to their fins in response.

Terynth saw this and blew a gentle puff of air at her son. He flinched indignantly, but decided to stop teasing his parent.

“Aww calm down, silly. You’ll need to behave today,” The gray dragonness was still grinning, but her voice was firm, “There’ll be some new faces in the nursery.”

“Really?!” Malefor practically exploded.

Tempastor flapped their wings, but was still jovial, “You’re going to fall off at this rate Malefor.”

“That’s right, some new miners have come fresh from across the Dragon Realms,” Terynth stroked the little dragon to pacify him, “And you need to be a good example for them. Especially if you want to make new friends. You need to show them we have pride, too.”

He sighed, “Okay, Mommy.”

Malefor settled down; he enjoyed riding the older dragons. He could avoid the dust that marred his scales, and he could take in the vastness of the mine. Ahead was a brown cliff-face with holes wide enough for ten dragons lined up tail-tip to tail-tip. It glowed a faint pale-blue from the inside. This was from precious lighting gems, or so he’d been told. His nose twitched; he’d never been inside.

He wanted to see those crystals up close.

Other miners began to walk beside the little family. Most were bulky, green dragons. Blue and gray dragons peppered alongside them. If he looked close, he could occasionally see other shapes. Strange and two-legged covered with fur.

Terynth waved her tail at one of the dragons who came up alongside them. She was as green as the evergreen trees Malefor had seen dotting the horizon beyond his little cave.

“Terynth! You taking your son to work in the mines today?” Malefor could see the dragon sizing him up, “Why, he almost looks old enough.”

“No,” Terynth’s tail stiffened. “We were just about to drop Malefor off with the other children.”

“You better do it quick, then. I just saw the boss come out. Wouldn’t want them to see a youngling so close to the mines,” the dragon smiled apologetically, “You know how nervous the City gets about --”

Terynth made eye contact with Tempastor and flicked her head, “In fact, Temp is off to drop Malefor off right now.”

Tempastor paused, but quickly understood their wife. They bounded off in the direction of the nursery aided by a weak puff of wind from Terynth. Malefor desperately clung to their scales, but still noted their parent’s rapid breaths. 

After the brief jaunt, Tempastor went from a slow trot to a complete stop. Malefor jumped onto the ground and let them recover.

They’d made it to the nursery anyway.

Tempastor muffled a few coughs and smiled weakly at Malefor. The two dragons found themselves at the top of a small hollow dug into the barren ground. At the center was a group of dragons the size of Malefor. They were all huddled together, some distance from their moss green caretaker. 

The wind dragon turned to nudge Malefor toward the group. He’d already galloped down toward the other little dragons. Their eyelids turned up at the thought of the little one’s energy, but immediately became sullen as they headed in the direction of the mines.

Malefor shot down the side of the hollow with a thud and a puff of dust. His playmates were all gathered around a new dragon. He strained his neck to see them, but could only catch a flash of yellow scales. Yellow scales! On a dragon! That was new…

In the process of struggling against the others, he bumped into a runny nose. Malefor recoiled and made eye contact with a pale blue dragonling who seemed frozen in place.

“Oh, hi, Snozzle!”

Snozzle’s expression was pained. She opened her mouth to speak, but no voice came out in the flock of little dragons. Malefor motioned with his tail to exit the group. Snozzle nodded, and they walked together near the edge of the hollow. Malefor kept glancing into the crowd as they traveled, but he couldn’t catch the face of the new dragon.

“Thanks for that. I - I don’t think I like crowds,” the blue dragon opened, rubbing her nose. 

“I sure don’t,” Malefor scowled, “I can’t get a good look at the new dragon.”

He tried to wipe off the snot that had rubbed onto his chest, but only succeeded in getting it dusty.

“I couldn’t either,” Snozzle frowned. She paused, noticing Malefor’s failed efforts to clean himself, “Y’know, I can clean that off for you, if you like.”

“Oh, no, it’s fine - “ Malefor jerked his dirty paw away from his chest as Snozzle gargled a jet of bubbles at him. The varying pressure washing his scales was surprisingly nice. 

“That kind of tickles,” he giggled, “Thanks, Snoz!”

She feigned a dramatic bow, “My pleasure.”

She jolted as she returned to her sitting position. Malefor saw a shadow behind him and whipped around.

“Pshh, that was nothing!”

It was the yellow dragon. She sneered at their shock, extended wings framed by the roiling clouds above her, “I’m Zigela Akolie Starrider the Second, heir to the Concurrent Castle, and member of the Noble Line. I may be little, but Master Icklemar says my skills with electricity are unparalleled. I’m an excellent orator! I know tons of magic you peasants never will -- watch this!” 

She let a shock of electricity out into the air while screaming, “FEAR ME, WEAKLINGS!”

The little dragons around her ‘oohed’ and ‘ahhed’. She smiled, wagging her head in approval, “Oh, and you can call me Ziggy.” 

Malefor rolled his eyes along with Snozzle, but his chest burned. He couldn’t let Ziggy go on insulting he and his friend -- that would be being a bad example. Besides, hadn’t his mother mentioned something about pride?

“Hey, that wasn’t very nice!” He hollered over the din of Ziggy’s new posse.

“Aww, the extinguished peasant can’t handle the truth,” Ziggy tossed her head, distracted by the conversations around her, “There’s no way those bubbles can compete with a zap from me!”

Malefor could feel the burning start to grow. 

Snozzle snarled and lashed her tail, “At least bubbles are fun! My dad says I’m the best bubble-breather around.”

“That’s because your daddy’s too weak to breathe water himself, unless he’s like your purple  _ friend _ ,” Ziggy was in Snozzle’s face, now, “Besides, that was just an ounce of my power. If there were more gems aboveground, I’d have zapped your eyes out. You’re basically extinguished”

Ziggy walked away from Snozzle as the water dragon stood stone still with an angry expression. Malefor sidled next to her; his face practically boiling. Her nose dripped ominously.

“I think I hate her.”

The two stayed there, observing Ziggy from a distance. She started laughing with the other little dragons, but kept glancing over at them.

“We just have to catch her when she’s not surrounded. Then we can give her a real pounding,” Malefor’s words were laboured by the heat engulfing his body.

Snozzle flinched when she began to sense the warmth rising from his scales.

“Malefor, are you-”

She was cut off by high-pitched voices shouting something in the distance.

“SNOZZLE’S EXTINGUISHED! SNOZZLE’S EXTINGUISHED!” 

Malefor caught a blurred glimpse of Snozzle’s nose flaring before his face was on fire and he was colliding with Ziggy and the dragons around her. He slashed at her with no regard, turning her scales bubbly and black.

“Y O U T A K E T H A T B A C K!”

The singed dragonlings screamed and fled to the outskirts of the hollow. Some of the faster ones were almost at the top. All he could sense was the red of the fire and the smell of burning. Ziggy didn’t even attempt to defend herself.

As suddenly as it had started, it was over. A large, translucent green ball pushed Malefor and Ziggy apart. His breath was taken away from him, and the fire ceased spilling from his mouth. 

“Stop this at once!” 

Malefor had forgotten all about their moss-green babysitter.


	3. PART 1 CHAPTER 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Gore warning

**PART 1 CHAPTER 3**

Malefor looked up, dazed. He could smell smoke. His smoke. Glowing green tendrils restrained him to the ground.

He was still in the dusty crevice, but there were translucent green walls around it. Across from him was Ziggy. Black spots marred her yellow scales, and steam rose from her sides. She was awake and conscious. Crying. Seeing what he had done, he began to cry, too.

A green face shot into his view.

“What is the meaning of this?!”

It was Quarzine, the dragon who watched over the young ones as their parents worked in the mines. Malefor had never seen her react so fast to something. She usually hobbled from place to place carefully due to her missing right foreleg.

“Z-Ziggy and the others were c-calling S-Snozzle ‘extinguished’. B-but she’s not…” Malefor rubbed his head. His scales were still warm, “Before today, she was… the only elemental drag…” 

Quarzine limped to Ziggy. She touched her nose to the little dragon’s side. Ziggy trembled weakly, and sobbed a little more quietly. Quarzine opened a bag on her side and dropped red crystals around the lightning dragon. They were quickly absorbed into her body, and although her burns remained, she looked instantly more healthy.

She stalked over to the purple dragon, “Malefor! You better thank the Ancestors it’s stormy. She’s stronger in this weather. I’d have used all of my gems if she weren’t a lightning dragon.”

“I- I’m sor-”

“Sorry won’t reverse this, little worm. I’m going to have to get your parents and the Boss and the...” Quarzine grimmaced and stamped a hind foot, voice trailing off as the other little dragons swarmed around her for comfort. She patted the sobbing masses, but looked off beyond the little crater.

She saw a blue orange miner late to their shift and called to them. They ran off in the direction of the mine after she said a few brief words.

Malefor’s scales stood on end when he heard Snozzle’s voice behind him, “Did no one see that?! Malefor used FIRE. But he’s not a fire dragon!”

The little dragons glanced at Snozzle nervously. Malefor heard a handful of them say “yeah”. Quarzine flared her nose at Snozzle, but didn’t say anything.

With a flick of her tail, the moss green dragon recalled Malefor’s restraints. His face was still wet with his tears of shame and embarrassment. They rose from his cheeks in little steam clouds. Snozzle was right, he’d just miraculously breathed fire. He should be proud! Instead, there was a sinking sensation in his stomach. Ziggy’s strength might have been restored, but he was afraid she’d have those burns forever. He never wanted to breathe fire again. 

Snozzle trotted over the isolated dragon, “You look upset.”

She put a wing over Malefor’s shoulder. She hissed in surprise at his warmth, but kept it there.

“Why are you shaking? She deserved that.”

Malefor gulped, “She deserved something, but I think I almost did something really bad.”

The water dragon considered this and rebutted, “Ziggy was being really bad, too. She started it. Besides, you’re an elemental, now! It’s me and you as friends!”

Malefor understood what Snozzle was getting at, but couldn’t quite bring himself to agree. 

Before he could respond, he heard a familiar voice shout his name at the edge of the hollow. Quarzine let down a portion of the green barrier, letting Terynth burst through with Tempastor following close behind. Terynth eyed Ziggy as she rushed past her. Her expression filled the purple dragon with dread. 

“Malefor! Quarzine sent us a messenger saying you beat up Zigela the Second.”

Malefor gulped, but before he could respond, Tempastor added a gasping addendum to his mother’s accusation, “This better be important, little dragon, the Boss isn’t going to take too kindly to exusing us from the mine!”

“She-she was mean to Snozzle and I was trying to be a good example - and -“

Quarzine stalked over to the wind dragon couple, “Thank you for coming on such short notice. I’ve let the mine know that you two are out on executive order from the Guardians. They should grant you the proper leave you need.”

Tempastor huffed, but Malefor couldn’t tell if it was a part of their usual gasping, or from incredulity. 

“What happened here, Quarzine? Malefor is a well-behaved dragon,” she might have been defending her son, but Terynth had a stony frown etched on her face. 

Quarzine looked side to side. 

“Malefor breathed fire,” her eyes bugged out with the intensity of the statement. 

The wind dragons were taken aback, but Quarzine continued: 

“Take Malefor home and rest up. Tomorrow we’ll be taking everyone involved to the Temple. 

“Now leave before Zigela’s parents arrive! I have a feeling they won’t take kindly to you or your son.”

Quarzine opened a gap in the barrier again. Terynth looked upset about not getting another word in with the green dragon, and roughly grabbed Malefor in her mouth. 

The walk home was long and silent. Malefor wriggled uncomfortably in his mother’s jaws. She gripped him harder, and he accepted a fate of being carried like a baby. He could hear Tempastor’s ragged breath as the little family made their way to their little hovel. 

He was let down gently enough on the floor, but his mother’s twitching wings belayed her irritation. She looked to Tempastor, who was as baffled as she was. 

“So, where do we start?” Was all they could muster. Terynth’s nostrils flared, spewing tiny jets of pressurized wind. 

Malefor gulped. 

“I’m really really really sorry! I-I didn’t know I was gonna burn Ziggy. I just wanted to rough her up…”

His eyes became wet again as he remembered Ziggy’s bubbling scales. 

“I-I’ll never breathe fire again!”

Tempastor shook their head, “You don’t know what you’re saying. We aren’t going to do that to you.”

Malefor’s tail went limp, “But everyone’s mad… I know it should be good that I have an element… but I’m not even a fire dragon. I shouldn’t have it. I’ll never use it and then no one will know!”

“No!” Tempastor stamped their foot, “You have an element and you have every right to use it.”

“I hurt someone…”

“You did, but you had a reason,” Terynth flared a wing in front of Tempastor, “I can understand why you would want to attack her. But you shouldn’t have. She’s from a noble family. Even though they’re miners, now, they can still hurt us. Be proud of your element, but use it carefully.”

Tempastor gave a pained nod.

The purple dragon was relieved, but the intensity of the day suddenly became too much. He curled into himself and started to sob. Quietly, his wind dragon parents came to him and gently held him close, stroking his frazzled scales.

“I’m so sorry...” He muttered weakly.

“Tchhhhhh…” Was Terynth’s gentle hush.

Malefor’s eyelids drooped and his breathing slowed.

“We’re here for you,” Tempastor whispered, laying the purple dragon down on the family’s nest. It was time for them to rest.


	4. PART 1 CHAPTER 4

**CHAPTER 4**

The local Temple was not far from the mine and Malefor’s family home. Tempastor lagged behind them, as usual, while Terynth was in the lead. Her face angled away from Malefor’s view, rendering it unreadable. In the orange light of the morning, the little dragon could make out an archway carved into the long clifface that was the lifeblood of the local area. Malefor’s eyes popped as he noticed clusters of brightly glowing gems on either side of the arch. His heart beat faster with each step they took toward the Temple, but he wasn’t sure if this was due to excitement or dread. Malefor was sure he was going to be punished, and knowing it was from an entity other than his parents made those prospects even more terrifying.

“Mommy… what do you think they’re going to do?”

The gray dragon’s tail lashed, “We’re meeting with the Guardians. They can do whatever they want.”

His heart was definitely racing from fear, then.

Malefor tried to hide behind his mother as they approached the archway. This brought him close to the stony wall. He was astonished by the delicate detail of the arcing symbols etched onto its surface. Despite the dust that permeated the settlement, Malefor could make out exquisitely carved elemental symbols. He wished briefly that he understood which elements they represented.

“Are you Malefor’s parents?”

He started when he heard his name. A tall blue dragon with a melodious voice had appeared in the archway. Malefor scrambled further behind Terynth while his parents dipped their heads.

“And where is the young dragon?”

When Malefor didn’t move, Tempastor nudged Malefor out from Terynth’s shadow.

The blue dragon cocked an eyeridge and muttered, “He certainly  _ isn’t  _ a fire dragon.”

Clearing her throat, she officially addressed the family in a tone not far from friendliness, “Follow me, then. The other Guardians are waiting in the main chamber.”

They entered the Temple hallway. It was instantly cooler, causing Malefor’s scales to raise. Some variety of tapestries lined the walls, but it was much too dim for him to easily make out what they depicted. The only details he could make out were their coloration: green, gray, and blue.

The end of the corridor opened to a simple, circular room with a nearly empty pool at the center. Around their guide, Malefor could see other archways opening to other areas in the temple -- some had more dirt piled around them than others. 

“Oh, I’m Water Guardian Driplos!” The blue dragon smiled as the family spilled into the room, “Almost forgot that part.”

She joined two other dragons sitting around the pool. Malefor lurched as he recognized Quarzine, but was even more surprised by the final Guardian. She reminded him of a big, fat glowworm Tempastor had once brought him from a long day at the mine. She was wrinkled, pale and round. It seemed that she hadn’t moved from her position for at least twenty years. Furthermore, the purple dragon was disgusted by the musty scent that engulfed the room. Was this what the mine was like?

Quarzine inclined her head toward the little family as a sign of acknowledgement. She whispered something to the pale dragon, who opened her cataract-filled eyes wide.

“Well, go ahead and tell them, then!”

Malefor crawled closer to the new dragon, who was flicking her tail.

“Common courtesy first!” Quarzine snapped at the older dragon, “We’re going to have to do this again anyway.”

The pale dragon wrinkled her nose and spat, “Earth Guardian Quarzine wants me to welcome you to the Cliffside Temple. I’m Wind Guardian Bluster, and the other one is Droppy-” 

“ _ Driplos _ .” Qarzine growled, moving her stub leg aside as Bluster nearly whipped it.

“I don’t care. She’s new.”

Bluster didn’t seem to notice how close Malefor had gotten to her. He wanted to poke her to see if she was slimy like that glow worm. He vaguely registered Driplos’s flinch.

Bluster finished: “Just say it, Qarzine!”

Quarzine scowled, focused on Malefor’s parents, “I’ve been looking into the Pool of Visions, but I can’t find an explanation as to why your son can breathe fire. He has the appearance of an extinguished dragon or a half-breed, but we don’t know of any records of those dragons gaining elemental abilities. Unfortunately, the Regional Guardians were contacted, and they want to see Malefor in the flesh to learn more about the situation. We are postponing punishment until they can decide what to do with him.”

“This could be a breakthrough in elemental studies!” Driplos’s voice increased in pitch. 

Malefor smiled. He was close enough to touch the worm dragon! And it sounded like he wasn’t going to get in trouble. Without a thought, Malefor reached a stubby claw out to poke Bluster’s side...

“When are they coming?” Malefor ignored his mother’s worried tone.

Quarzine rolled her eyes, “They’re not. They want every dragon involved at the Warfang Temple as soon as possible.”

“We can’t possibly miss another day at the mines!” Tempastor continued, “The Boss’ll -”

Terynth let out a weak gust of wind, “We both know you’re in no health to travel, Tempastor. You won’t have to worry about that.” 

They gave Terynth a pained expression, “But you…”

“The two of you are on leave! By my order!” The moss green dragon hissed, “If the Boss does anything to you, it will have to be outside of my view.”

“You have no idea -” Tempastor caught themself mid-sentence.

“I don’t know and I don’t care,” Quarzine continued, “Any of you who are _ fit to travel _ should meet up here again tomorrow morning. Warfang is about a day’s walk away, so pack lightly for travel.”

Suddenly, Bluster gave a furious roar. Malefor shot out from next to her and leapt onto Tempastor’s shoulders.

“The rats are back, Quarzine! They’re biting me again!”

Quarzine huffed and muttered something about needing a helper to be put on rat duty. Driplos snickered as all eyes fell on the purple dragon. Malefor tried to brush off their stares with a nonchalant shrug. Bluster was not slimy, like he thought, so the whole venture was a bit of a bust.

The Water Guardian directed the family towards the archway, “I think he’s had enough of this dry talking for a day. Is that everything, Quarzine?”

The green dragon didn’t respond.

As they walked through the corridors, Driplos rolled her eyes and whispered, “She’s just mad that she has to meet with the Starriders and Siryus and tell them all of the same information. It’s really Bluster’s job. She’s the head Guardian, after all. Too bad she’s so old.”

They reached the light and fresher air of the outdoors. Malefor winced, but bounced off of Tempastor’s back to explore his surroundings as soon as his eyes adjusted. His parents and the blue dragon seemed to be speaking intensely, but he didn’t much care. He was pleased enough that he’d escaped punishment, and was certain that as long as he never used his fire element again, he’d be safe.


	5. PART 1 CHAPTER 5

**PART 1 CHAPTER 5**

Malefor yawned. It was still dark at the Temple. The carvings around the archway glowed faintly. He was perched once again on Tempastor’s back and vaguely listened to the wind dragon talking to Terynth. Their voices were tense.

Driplos stood apart from them with Quarzine’s bag around her. Around her were a motley crew of miners, who looked out at the horizon. One of their tails raised. As the sun peeked over the skyline, three yellow dragons arrived at the Temple. The two larger dragons raised their heads stiffly and looked down their snouts at the rest of the group. Between them stood a smaller dragon: Ziggy Starrider.

The gems had healed her up well enough, all except for her scales which were still black and melted in places. Malefor wondered with a twinge of shame how long they would stay that way. He curled deeper into Tempastor’s shoulders.

The Starriders walked toward the Temple, but only glared at Malefor. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see Ziggy sticking her tongue out, but he ignored her.

His parents had stopped talking. Malefor perked his wings as Tempastor turned their head and lifted him off of their back.

“Malefor, you know I can’t come with you to the City,” The blue-gray dragon began haltingly. 

“I know, but we’ll be back!”

Tempastor paused.

“It’s just… You’ll be the farthest away from me you’ve ever been. I know I’ve had long days at the mine, but it’s just a wingbeat away from you.”

“I’ll be with Mommy, don’t worry,” Malefor gave Tempastor a playful nip to the nose. The wind dragon leaned in and wrapped their wings around their son.

“I know, but I’m still going to miss you.”

Malefor squirmed from the tightness of their parent’s hug, but accepted it, “I’ll miss you, too, but I can’t wait to see Warfang! That’s where all of the gems go, isn’t it?”

Tempastor released the little dragon and nodded. They chewed on their lower lip. The sun was almost above the horizon by now, casting an ethereal orange hue around them. Slowly, they opened their mouth, but before they could speak, there was a shout.

“We’re here, we’re here!”

Two deep blue dragons swept past Driplos and her miners, wings beating frantically, causing them to skim just above the ground. One was carrying Snozzle who was grinning with excitement. The Water Guardian turned around and rolled her eyes.

From the direction of the Starriders, Malefor heard a hiss: “Of course they’re late.”

Snozzle leapt from one of her father’s arms and sped toward Malefor. They crashed into each other and started to play-fight. 

Driplos trotted over to the three families with the miners not far behind. The dust she displaced blew onto Malefor’s scales, but he didn’t much mind.

“Since we’re a little behind, there’s not much time to check if you have everything you need for our trip,” She said to the adults in an even tone, “I’m going to trust you have everything you need for our journey.”

One of the Starriders flipped her head, displaying a finely made side bag, and a saddle for Ziggy, “Of course.”

Terynth similarly held out a rough sack she’d filled the night before. 

The Siryu who’d been carrying Snozzle opened his eyes wide and looked at his husband, who shrugged faintly.

Driplos’s nose wrinkled faintly, “You might be able to scavenge for some food along the road, but you really should have brought at least some supplies… I have some emergency food if you absolutely need it.”

She looked over to the miners, who had their own individual sacks prepared. Once the Water Guardian had concluded that everyone was suitably prepared, she made the signal to leave. The group started to follow her. Tempastor stayed back near the Temple arches. Terynth rubbed her head against the other wind dragon’s in goodbye while Malefor wrapped himself around one of their legs. They hurried off after the rest of the party. Malefor looked back at his parent, waving his tail in goodbye. Tempastor flapped their wings in response.

“Goodbye!” Was their faint cry, “I love you!”

With that, the dragons walked off into the sunrise.

\-----

By noontime, Malefor’s paws were caked with dust, but he refused to take passage on his mother’s back. That’s what Ziggy was doing, and he wanted to think he was better than her. Here and there, he could see little patches of greenery pop out through the dry land. He poked his nose at them, but never had enough time to really explore them without being separated from the rest of the dragons.

He spotted something in the distance that made his heart skip a beat. Up ahead was a giant green gem, and behind it, grass growing between trees. Driplos and the other miners had already made their way to the crystalline protrusion and were hacking away at it. Malefor sped toward it to get a closer look, but the gem had already been completely smashed before he could get too close.

Speechless, he was amazed as the fragments were absorbed by the whole party. They glowed softly as they cooly met with his flesh. They made him feel… different…

“I think here is a good spot to rest,” Driplos addressed the group, looking relieved, “All of you who need to hunt should get to it.”

Snozzle wagged her tail, “Yes! Hunting with dads!”

The Siryus bounded into the forest as the Starriders sniffed indolently.

Malefor rubbed up against his mother’s foreleg. He felt stronger and more sure of himself than he’d ever felt before. The tang of smoke filled his nostrils.

“...What was that?”

Terynth smiled, letting out a sturdy puff of wind, “That, Malefor, was a Green Spirit Gem. A gift from the Ancestors meant to replenish your vitality.”

“That’s nice of them. Don’t tell me that was the only one!”

“Of course! These gems are one of the things Tempastor and I mine for, silly,” Terynth gave Malefor a playful pat with her tail, “It’s too bad they won’t let us take any home. I would have shown you them sooner.”

Malefor ripped up some of the grass he was standing on, “Why don’t they let you take any? I’d do anything to feel that way again.”

“Well, the Gems and other materials we find are sent to the Dragon City. For construction, I think,” The vents of wind coming from her nostrils turned gray and angry, “The Green King despised dragons like me and Tempastor, so we were sent to work at the mines with no way to use gems.”

“Aww that’s mean,” Malefor hugged his mother’s leg, “ _ I _ like you.”

She chuckled, “I’m glad.”

As they nuzzled each other, Malefor was painfully aware of the Starriders staring at them. They were settled close to the crevice where the Spirit Gem had been, eating food with an unrecognizable scent. He could hear them muttering something about “being switched” and “illness”, but tried not to pay them any mind.

Rustling in the trees beyond pulled him away from Terynth. A furred shape flashed between their trunks, but he couldn’t quite catch what it was. One of the miners noticed it as well, but stayed relaxed, so Malefor figured it wasn’t dangerous. He crept towards the place he’d seen the shape.

At the edge of the trees, he crouched and readied himself to pounce…

A blur of blue bashed into him.

“Snozzle!” He roared, mouth glowing, “That was quick!”

Snozzle giggled as he playfully kicked her, “We found food from some apes! Boy were they scared.”

Malefor cocked an eyebrow.

“They were eating something and ran away when they saw us. Free food. They made weird noises,” Snozzle tried to nip him, “ _ What _ , did you think we were going to hurt them?”

“I don’t know,” he pushed her fangs away, “I don’t even know what an ape is.”

A shadow appeared over them.

“You’ll know soon enough,” It was Driplos, “They live in this forest, so we’ll run into them eventually. Lucky for us, apes are hardly violent.”

With an unabashed rustle, Snozzle’s parents burst out of the forest, “We’re back!”

“And just in time,” The Water Guardian said dryly, “We’re about to leave.”

She raised her voice to address the whole group, “Okay, everybody, let’s get a move on! We’ll hardly make it to Warfang by this evening thanks to our delays, but I know a good place to camp for the night.”

There was compliant groaning as the other dragons got up from their resting places and prepared to leave. Malefor bounded ahead with Snozzle into the trees. It was surprisingly cool, damp, and green. The grass had been nice on his claws, but the soft forest floor was even better.

“So, what’s an ape, then?”

He spent the next couple of hours chatting with Snozzle as they pranced through the forest. They counted every mushroom they saw, and played tag. Malefor even thought he saw the paw of an ape every once and awhile. Ziggy was a constant shadow behind them, but seemed content to ride on her mother’s saddle.

Eventually, evening arrived. Driplos directed the group to a clearing with a charred pit at its center. The dragons funnelled in and started settling for the night. Malefor lay nestled next to his mother; it was cold, and she was a source of heat. He kept looking past her and into the forest for signs of apes.

The miners sat next to the pit, rubbing stones next to it. They’d filled it with wood, but appeared to be struggling with something. Driplos’s eyeridges were raised, but the mottled dragons ignored her.

“No fire, yet?” One of the Starriders huffed. She stood up and pushed the miners aside. 

“Let me take care of that.”

Malefor heard the zap before he saw the resulting flash of light. He flinched, but was pleased when he felt the warmth of the flames.

Ziggy’s mother stalked back toward the other electric dragons, muttering “Let’s see that sick little extinguished dragon do that.”

Sick? Was he sick? Is that what the Warfang Guardians wanted to see him for?

She paused at Driplos, “I’d like my compensation.”

“Excuse me?”

“Green Spirit Gems. To regenerate my lightning powers,” Her face was murderous.

Driplos looked to her side bag and then back at the yellow dragon, “No! This is for emergencies!”

“I’d call dying of cold an emergency. Not like the purple runt was going to take care of it.”

“You have no right to address a Guardian this way,” Driplos snarled. The miners looked in her direction and started to gather behind her, “Your once noble rank means nothing.”

Malefor saw Ziggy look up at her mother. Instead of the excitement he expected, her expression was blank. Her other mother stood up next to her, scales raised, but didn’t move.

“You’re right,  _ Guardian _ ,” The pale yellow dragon hissed, tossing her head in Malefor’s direction, “Nobility means nothing. Even dragons like that little switched-at-birth, abomination have noble’s names.”

Terynth rose quickly as Malefor blanched. First the lightning dragon had said he was sick, then she’d said he was “switched-at-birth”. That would explain his odd color…

“‘Malefor’ is a family name, pig!” She made to move toward the Starrider, but the other jumped in front of her.

“STOP THIS AT ONCE!” Driplos roared. The miners surrounded the Starriders and held them down. Snozzle and her fathers stared blankly from the other side of the clearing.

“Internal fighting will not be tolerated,” All of the night sounds had ceased at Driplos’s bellow, “If you have qualms, take it up with the Warfang Guardians.”

She spat a stream of water at the fire, extinguishing it.

“Although I doubt they’ll be too generous considering your history.”

Malefor’s heart was racing, but the situation seemed to have de-escalated.

“Let’s call it a night,” Was Driplos’s final statement.

Malefor didn’t think he was going to get much rest.


	6. PART 1 CHAPTER 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> (They say the thing)

**PART 1 CHAPTER 6**

Despite Terynth curling protectively around Malefor, it had been an almost sleepless night. The confrontation before going to sleep had done little to ease Malefor into a state of rest. His mother had been breathing quickly all through the midnight hours, which only kept his own body awake.

Furthermore, he couldn’t get what had been said out of his mind. He’d always known the origin of his name, but he did question the origin of his egg. Tempastor was a grayish wind dragon. Terynth was a grayish wind dragon. Malefor was not. He was a purple extinguished dragon. Or perhaps fire dragon, now. He wasn’t even sure what a fire dragon looked like, to be honest. They were probably red. Or orange.

Unfortunately, his lack of sleep had kept him mute for most of the morning. He’d brushed off Snozzle’s hello, and easily ignored the petty sniffs from the Starriders. Driplos had given him a funny look, but he ignored that, too. But his questions turned his stomach. He even missed when Driplos announced that the buildings on the horizon were the Dragon City. 

They walked closer and closer. Finally, Malefor had the strength to speak when they were only about an hour from the gates. This was his only chance.

He dragged behind Terynth, “I am sick, aren’t I?”

“What do you mean?” The wind dragon replied hazily.

“You know, what Ziggy’s mom said last night. That I’m sick. I’m extinguished, but I can breathe fire.”

“Not this again,” Terynth tried to hide a rolling eye, “Have a little more pride, Malefor. She’s trying to get under your scales. Your fire is a  _ gift _ . We’re here to show the Head Guardians. Maybe it’ll provide insight into how elemental magic works.”

“You already told me it’s a good thing,” He started speaking haltingly, “It’s just - I’m not -”

“I wasn’t switched at birth, was I?”

To his dismay, Terynth burst out laughing. Malefor started to tear up.

“I’m sorry, Mal, I’m not laughing at you,” She tried to subdue her chuckles, “No, you weren't switched at birth. When you get home, we should ask Tempastor all about when I laid your egg. They remember it better than I do.”

“But.. why..?”

“Some dragons just want to lie to you to get you to do things. It’s a very powerful tool,” The wind dragon was suddenly serious, “Most dragons you meet are going to want to make you do things. You don’t have to listen to them.”

“But I’m not a wind dragon!” He was missing the point, “You and Temp are wind dragons, but I’m not. And extinguished dragons usually happen when dragons of different elements have an egg, so it doesn’t make sense!”

“Look at the shape of your paws and your crest. Just like Tempastor. Your tail and wings. Just like me,” She could tell what he was truly worried about, “The mines are in an area with very little magic. The only Spirit Gems around are deep underground, and none of us are allowed to use them. A dragon needs magic to be born an elemental. There just wasn’t enough magic for you to be born with an element. I’m sure there are other little dragons with the same predicament.”

“But look at you, now! You’re a fire dragon!” She nuzzled him.

One of the Starriders happened to catch some of their conversation, “The lack of elemental energies at the mines is why our daughter is a prime example of an elemental. She could easily breathe electricity while most could barely muster their own elements.”

The mood immediately soured.

“Even that little water dragon could only spit out a few bubbles. Or at least that’s what I’ve been told.”

Terynth glared at her, which caused her to stalk away. Malefor gave the lightning dragons an icy frown.

“I really don’t like them,” He muttered. Thankfully, the group had made it to the city gates. The yellowed brick walls weren’t very tall, but were guarded heavily. Malefor could quickly see no dragon would be able to fly into the city without a fight. There were guards standing out front, bipedal and furred, like apes, but much smaller.

“Moles,” Snozzle whispered, appearing beside Malefor. He was focused on Driplos, chatting with some of the guards. She dug into her pouch and revealed a scroll, which they passed among each other, nodding. One of them scurried to an indistinguishable carving and pressed it.

The grating of bricks singed Malefor’s eardrums. Snozzle flinched, ramming a wing into his side. He seethed for a second, but focused on what was happening to the structure. A small hole opened in the side of the wall, barely big enough for a full-grown dragon. The moles motioned the group to enter.

The miners moved around the tunnel with the moles, bewildered. The Water Guardian shook her head at them, but flicked her tail at the rest of the group.

“Quickly!”

The Starriders fell in behind her, followed by Terynth and Malefor. He looked behind him at the last bits of sunlight before the Siryus entered. He frowned at the thought of meeting another group of old dragons he didn’t know. 

When he looked forward again, he was met with what appeared to be a massive underground city. Lit in places by gems, there were structures decorated like the Temple near the mines. There were the occasional flash of scales, but any other dragons seemed to be too far away to hear over the sounds of the group’s footsteps. Pedestals were put in place for something, but they were currently empty.

Terynth swished her tail as they moved down a corridor large. Malefor jumped -- narrowly missing the sweep. He had the urge to playfully nip his mother for her carelessness, but his awe suppressed such feelings. The whole party, in fact were silent.

Finally, they made it into an antechamber with a large pool at its center. Driplos signalled for them to stop with a spread wing. 

“It’s empty! Why is it empty?” Came a weak protest from one of the lightning dragons.

One of Snozzle’s parents hissed a loud hush in their direction. Both adult Starriders rolled their eyes, but remained silent.

“That _ is  _ odd,” Driplos muttered, “Hello?”

Her voice echoed in the chamber with no response. Malefor took the pause to hide behind Terynth once more.

As she turned around to address her group, she stiffened. The rustle of parchment paper could be heard from the far end of the space, in the direction of one of the six arches. Each arch had a distinct color.

“Wait a tick!” Came a pitchy response. It seemed to be talking to another dragon in the shadows of the cool blue arch, “It’’ll be quick. The Badland Guardians claim this could be useful for the study of elemental magic.”

“Sounds like another excuse for them to beg for more resources,” The other dragon responded. They slowly walked into the light. From the far end of the pool, Malefor could make out a powder-blue dragon in black armor, accompanied by one of the same shade wrestling with scrolls.

The armored dragon briefly made eye contact with the party, before scanning either of her sides. 

“This is embarrassing.”

The dragon holding the scrolls fumbled with them, but made no other signs of sympathy to the armored dragon.

“Dragsooth! Icklemar! Drither! I know you’re hiding out. I can hear you pacing around.”

They left the shadows of their respective archways. A red dragon with pauldrons, yellow bearing a cape, and muscular brown dragon respectively. Malefor could hear them whispering about waiting for his group to leave, but he wasn’t sure which dragon said it.

Driplos bowed, “Head Guardians, it is good to see you again.”

The armored dragon tilted her head, “Guardian Driplos.”

The yellow dragon gave a smile at the name and seemed about to speak, but was interrupted by the armored one.

“My secretary, here, tells me you contacted us several days ago with information about an elementless dragon using fire magic. Is this true?”

“Yes, Guardian Glacious,” Driplos continued to bow, which Malefor thought was gratuitous, “He is here with us.”

Glacious rolled her eyes, “What, is it one of those ridiculous Water Dragons?”

The Siryus were poking each other playfully and clearly ignoring the Head Guardian.

“No- he’s-” Driplos looked side to side, trying to find the purple dragon. Terynth shoved him in front of her with a swipe of her paw. Malefor squawked in protest.

“There we are.”

Glacious sneered, “Well, it’s clearly a dragon born without elemental power. Look at those scales! They don’t align with any magic at all.”

Her companion began scribbling notes desperately on the scrolls while the other Head Guardians nodded in bored agreement. 

“Wind dragon, are you sure your mate isn’t extinguished or of a different element?”

Terynth puffed out her chest, “Tempastor is a wind dragon like myself! They were born with an element and could use it quite well until the likes of you sent them to work at the mines!”

“Watch your tongue,” The brown Guardian interjected, “Surely you remember who you speak to.” Driplos gave Terynth an uneasy glance.

“We surmise that he was switched at birth,” one of the Starriders whined, “But we cannot deny that he can breathe fire. Just look at what he did to our daughter!”

She folded her wings, revealing Ziggy on her saddle. Ziggy motioned dramatically to her burn scars.

Glacious sucked in a breath as the red dragon whispered something into her ear. The other Head Guardians appeared distraught.

“He is such a young dragon… Surely this is impossible…” The yellow Guardian whispered.

“It’s not!” Snozzle yelped, “Malefor gave her a good torching because she deserved it!”

Her fathers quickly covered her mouth with their paws and gave the Guardians cheesy smiles.

“This looks like the sloppy work of an overworked fire dragon. If this purple worm could breathe fire, there’s no way he could do it this strong,” Glacious hissed. Malefor’s scales rose defensively at the insult, but he stifled his anger in order to prevent signs of weakness toward these strange dragons.

The secretary spattered ink on his scales as he raised a paw, “Glacious, I looked at a report of the dragon population under the Badlands Guardians. There are no fire dragons to speak of in that area. We’ve assigned earth, wind, and water guardians there in accordance with the population.”

“Still, a stray fire dragon or fall into a fire pit could have done the same damage,” Glacious hissed, “Quite frankly, this situation is ridiculous. An obvious ploy -”

“But it’s true!” One of the Starriders interrupted, “Our daughter was sacrificed for this discovery! The least you could do is punish him.”

Glacious gave a smirk, “Show me, then. Breathe fire, little maggot.”

Malefor gulped. All eyes were now on him. His veins grew icy.

“I - I don’t want to hurt anyone again.”

Terynth’s eyes bulged. She nudged him nervously with her snout, “Come on, Mal…”

“He - he’s just nervous,” Driplos’s voice became high-pitched and panicky. 

“You shouldn’t be ashamed -”

“We really need this -”

The two dragons’ voices melded into one. Malefor tried to block them out. Now the Siryu’s were staring nervously at them. Bubbles came from Snozzle’s snout as she tried to suppress her nervousness.

“This whole trip better be worthwhile,” One of the Starriders snapped. She made eye contact with the red Guardian and caught herself.

Glacious cleared her throat, “Clearly -”

That last voice in the cacophony was enough.

“S T O P I T!”

Ice jetted in a stream from deep in Malefor’s throat and fell harmlessly into the vision pool ahead of them. It froze an island on the surface, causing immediate silence.

“Well, he’s definitely not a fire dragon,” Glacious muttered, “and despite his appearance, he’s not extinguished, either.”


	7. PART 1 CHAPTER 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> There will be more. The next part will be posted if/when I finish it.

**PART 1 CHAPTER 7**

Terynth wrapped her wings firmly around his body, nearly suffocating him, “You did such a good job, Mal! You’re the strongest dragon I know!”

She nipped his horns, and Malefor smiled. Snozzle hopped over and blew bubbles in his face. The Starriders smiled triumphantly and turned to Glacious, who’s jaw dropped angrily.

“Head Guardians we brought him to you in the name of research,” Driplos dipped her head in an attempt to stay calm; she could not hide her body from shaking, “It appears there are more mysteries to Malefor.”

Glacious huffed, “Certainly. But his technique could use work.”

There was a brief pause as the Head Guardians continued to soak in the scene that lay before them. 

“We will be sending an apprentice, training dummies, and a supply of gems to the Mining Temple shortly. It seems there is more magical energy in that area than previously thought.”

“We’ll be taking our compensation, too!” The Starriders roared, puffing out their chests, “We were thinking assignment to a new region.”

“That wasn’t compensation,” Glacious hissed. “There’s clearly a new need in that area.”

Driplos rolled her eyes and muttered something about applying for supplies years ago. The secretary was writing madly on his scrolls, continuing to spill ink everywhere.

Finally, the red Guardian stomped in front of Glacious.

“You two get no reward!” She flicked her tail violently, “I should have stopped you immediately when I saw you step foot in this sacred Temple. You are the deposed Nobles Zigela and Aurat Starrier!”

On cue, two bulky dragons popped out of the elemental arches; one gray-green, the other brick-red. They seized the lightning dragons, shoving Ziggy from her mother’s shoulders.

“You dare come back to Warfang and attempt to renegotiate your punishment? Your heads are on the line, now!”

Aurat sneered, her gold scales flashing, “What an outrage that would cause to the dragons of the Concurrent Region!”

The red dragon ignored this, “I propose to this council of Guardians that the Starriders be separated to prevent their further schemes! Zigela to the Lake Prison, and Aurat to the Swamp Prison.”

“All in favor, say ‘aye’,” Glacious grumbled. She was met with unanimous agreement. 

With that, the lightning dragons were drug away. They struggled and grunted, but said nothing.

Ziggy sat limply in the place where she’d been shoved.

“What about the little one?” Came the voice of the yellow Guardian.

“Oh…” Glacious scanned the crowd of visiting dragons. Her eyes landed on the Siryus, and she spoke flippantly, “Those water dragons can take care of her. The four of you are dismissed.”

“You can’t just do that! She deserved to be burned, not to be taken from her family!” Malefor screamed, energized by his use of ice. The Siryus and Ziggy padded out of the room behind him with their tails between their legs; everyone know that Ziggy and Snozzle would make for terrible sisters. 

He jumped onto the icy island he’d made, “You bring all of them back!”

He could feel his chest burn hot and cold all at once. 

“You might be an elemental abomination, but you have no right to speak to a Guardian in such a tone,” Glacious hissed calmly, “You have no right to make such judgements.”

“You don’t, either!” Malefor launched at Glacious. He tried to breathe fire or ice, but found his elemental resources prematurely drained.

Glacious grabbed him roughly by the stomach, “What a spirited little fellow. I’m impressed you have the gall to attack me.”

She smiled at Terynth, who looked terrified, “You must have done something to raise him right. Unfortunately, he doesn’t seem to understand who has power and who doesn’t.”

Malefor struggled in her grip. He could feel his intestines shifting under her strength. He tried to bite her, but her paws were also armored.

“Blissthalan,” Glacious turned to the secretary, “We should have some open rooms reserved for Head Apprentices. Take this little _ prodigy _ to one of them for the night. I want to speak to his mother.”

She dropped a wheezing Malefor on his head; right at Blissthalan’s feet. He tried to stand, but ached too much to even try. Blissthalan fretted with his notes.

“I’ll take those,” came the reply of the brown Guardian.

Blissthalan nodded desperately and gently gripped the purple dragon in his jaws. Malefor could hear himself rising, but his consciousness seemed to be fading. They were walking down a musty hallway… More visions of the cavernous underground city… Malefor was laid down on a pile of something soft…

Then, nothing.

  
  


\-----

Malefor woke in Terynth’s arms. She was smoothing out his scales with her tail and muttering something kindly. Her eyes looked different, but Malefor couldn’t quite figure out why. His vision was too blurry to tell what was going on.

He moved in an attempt to stretch. Terynth noticed this and nuzzled closer.

“Mom?” Her wings obscured his vision, and he had a sense that he was home, “Are we back at the mines already?”

A shudder went through the dragon’s blue-gray body.

“What..?”

“Malefor, you’re awake,” She said. Malefor could vaguely sense her voice quavering, but she seemed to be masking it.

His eyes came into focus. He was in a dark gray room on a bed of cushions. The decorations were almost gaudy, but he didn’t pay them much attention.

“The Head Guardians and I have been talking.”

Malefor tensed.

“I thought they might want to see us for a day or two. That they might be able to understand your magic and send us home right away.”

“But they’ve never seen anything like this. Malefor, they want to  _ train _ you.”

His wings flared, “That’s good, isn’t it?”

Terynth gave him a weak smile, “They’ll give you a better life than you could ever have at the mines.”

“That’s great! You and Tempastor won’t have to worry about the Boss or mining. Maybe they could help Temp with -”

The wind dragon shook her head slowly.

Malefor’s heart sank.

“That’s not how it works, Mal. Temp and I  _ have _ to work at the mines. We… did some things that the Guardians won’t forgive.”

“Malefor, I can’t stay.”

The purple dragon nuzzled closer to his mother, breath huffing. Trickles of wetness fell onto his head as both dragons shuddered.

“They’re making me go soon,” Terynth warned after they sobbed together for some time.

Malefor gripped her tighter, “It’s not fair - they can’t - I don’t -”

“I can’t let you stay at the mines now that you have a chance to leave. You’ve seen what it’s done to Tempastor and I,” She stroked his cheek with her paw, wiping away a tear, “The Guardians will at the very least keep you alive and healthy, which is something I can’t say the Boss would do.”

A knocking sound interrupted them. It was Blissthalan outside, gently slapping his tail against the wall. Both dragons inside the lavish room shuddered. 

“That’s the signal,” Terynth wrapped her wings around Malefor for the last time.

“I have to go.”

Malefor was silent as she stood up. Her movements conveyed the weight of sadness that the both of them bore.

“I will try to write you,” She said quietly, “I know someone through the grapevine who might have a messenger bird. If not -”

Blissthalan cleared his throat, but didn’t look either dragon in the eye. Terynth was in the doorway, “- Tempastor can try to use the Badlands vision pool.”

Malefor’s eyes were still wet, but through his tears, he gave his mother a gentle nip to the tail. She turned and gave him another hug. Blissthalan let them embrace, but tore them apart silently after a few seconds. Malefor and Terynth didn’t struggle; it was useless.

He led the wind dragon away. She was spitting for him to take her quickly before she lost control. 

Malefor sat in the doorway feeling strange. For the first time he felt completely powerless. Completely hopeless. He was terrified.


End file.
